SoC design software supports ASIL B, D safety levels in automotive apps

Synopsys announced new functional safety (FS) derivatives of its popular DesignWare ARC processor IP to simplify and accelerate the development of automotive system-on-chips (SoCs). The safety-enhanced processor portfolio, which includes the Synopsys DesignWare ARC EM22FS, HS4xFS, and EV7xFS processors, covers a broad range of automotive use cases from ultra-low power control modules to artificial intelligence (AI)-based vision processing.

The Synopsys ARC “FS” cores integrate hardware safety features, such as redundant processors, error-correcting code (ECC), parity protection, safety monitors, and user-programmable windowed watchdog timers, to detect system errors. Comprehensive documentation related to safety, including enhanced-safety manuals, FMEDA, and DFMEA reports accelerate SoC-level functional safety assessments. In addition, the Synopsys DesignWare ARC MetaWare Development Toolkit for Safety (EM22FS, HS4xFS) and MetaWare EV Development Toolkit for Safety (EV7xFS) help simplify the development of ISO 26262-compliant software.

The Synopsys DesignWare ARC EM22FS processor provides ultra-low power, dual-core lockstep functionality for ASIL D safety requirements in applications such as automotive sensors, braking and steering systems, and keyless entry. For use cases with ASIL B requirements (i.e., non-lockstep), the processor can be configured with the two cores operating independently. The Synopsys DesignWare ARC HS4xFS processors support single-, dual-, and quad-core implementations to enable high-performance safety applications, such as vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) networking, and electric vehicle battery charging.  In addition, the ARC EM22FS and HS4xFS processors can function as ASIL D compliant SoC-level safety managers with tight integration to Synopsys test solutions, including DesignWare STAR Memory System, STAR Hierarchical System, STAR ECC, and TestMAX XLBIST, to provide a comprehensive functional safety test solution.

The processors are supported by the Synopsys DesignWare ARC MetaWare Development Toolkit for Safety, a complete solution for developing, debugging and optimizing embedded software targeted for automotive applications. Included in the toolkit is an ASIL D certified compiler and collateral related to safety, including a safety manual and safety guide, to help developers of safety-critical systems fulfill the requirements of the ISO 26262 standard and prepare for compliance testing.

The Synopsys DesignWare ARC EV7xFS Embedded Vision Processors, which combine a multicore vision CPU with a high-performance deep neural network (DNN) engine, integrate safety-critical hardware features to help meet ASIL B and D requirements for vision, radar, and LiDAR for ADAS applications and level 3+ autonomous vehicles. To provide greater flexibility to automotive design teams that address evolving requirements, the EV7xFS offers a “hybrid” option that enables users to select safety levels up to ASIL D in software, post-silicon. The EV7xFS processors are supported by the ARC MetaWare EV Development Toolkit for Safety.